Wow…already post Christmas. Hope everyone had a good week. I am enjoying some time off here in California and just now getting around to thinking about what I would like to share on the blog. While it isn’t directly spa related….I thought this recent visit to the eye doctor was worth a mention in terms of what I learned – especially about getting rid of red eyes. I went to the eye doctor (Dr. Greg Evans in La Quinta, CA) a few days ago as I seem to need glasses to drive at night. I had LASIK in both eyes 9 years ago and had another LASIK procedure in one eye about 6 months ago. With mono-vision now, I am doing pretty well and can read and see distance without glasses. Except for night driving.

It had been quite some time since I went to a regular eye doctor. Two things impressed me. First….the technology. Second…the price. The technology has come a long way. They took pictures of each eye (rather than doing dialation) after which the doctor showed me each of my eyeballs on a computer screen. He moved the eyeball around so we could look at it from the top, the bottom, from the sides – and even go through it. He was able to tell almost everything about my vision just from this first test. Fascinating. During my entire appointment we were interacting with his computer as he entered data gleaned from additional tests. Only using eye charts seemed familiar.

My second surprise was the price and not because it was expensive. In fact I thought the $166 charge for the visit was low (not that I complained) and an extra $39 for the special laser scan was very fair. Perhaps seeing menus at luxury spas with massages close to that price has begun to distort reality for me. Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise.

I also learned something new about red eyes – which I am very familiar with. I have noticed that whenever I drink coffee (about once a week) my eyes seem to get red. Thinking this might have something to do with the caffeine affecting blood vessels, I asked the doctor who explained that it is quite common for people’s eyes to be red after drinking coffee but not for that reason. The reason is because coffee (caffeine) does put you in a state of heightened alert and one result is you keep your eyes open wider and do not blink as often which causes dryness. He explained that the same thing happens when we work at a computer. You do not blink as often – thus the red eyes. Dryness is most often the culprit. Then he went on to give me a prescription for a brand new eye drop. Apparently you use these eye drops for six to eight weeks as they help get the red out from the inside. I’ll keep you posted.

I couldn’t help but thinking….as spas add more and more medical procedures, it sure would be a good fit to have an hour with a good optometrist or ophthalmologist. Clear eyes and good vision are every bit a part of health and beauty as most everything else we do at spas.

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